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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap...:...., Copyright No.,. 



Shelf..i3.± 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



CONSTITUTION 

AND 

BY-LAWS 



of the 

/ 



Society of Vjolonial Wars 



in the 



State of Georgia. 



Chartered, November 19, 1896. 

Organized, December 29, 18 



philadelphia : 

The Bailey, Banks & Biddle Co., 

1897. 

A. 



m^ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1897, by the Society of 

Colonial Wars, in the State of Georgia, in theOffice of the 

Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C. 



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charter Members. 



JOHN AVERY GERE CARSON Savannah. 

WILLIAM WASHINGTON GORDON, Jr Savannah. 

FRANCIS FITCH JONES Savannah. 

WILLIAM RIDGELY LEAKEN Savannah. 

THOMAS PINCKNEY WARING Savannah. 

JEFFERSON RANDOLPH ANDERSON Savannah. 

HUGH VERNON WASHINGTON Macon. 

JOHN WILLIAM GRANT Atlanta. 

WILLIAM DANIEL GRANT Atlanta. 

CHARLES FRANK WHITNER Atlanta. 

JOHN ADDISON WHITNER Atlanta. 

HENRY ROOTES JACKSON Marietta. 

ANTHONY. STODDARD BYERS Atlanta. 

RICHARD HARRISON EARLE Marietta. 

HUGH HAGAN Atlanta. 

JOHN MERIWETHER MCALLISTER Atlanta. 

JOHN THOMAS GLENN Atlanta. 

JOHN HARRIS KINZIE Savannah. 



officers 1896-1897. 

Governor, 

JOHN AVERY GERE CARSON. 

Savannah. 

Deputy Governor, 

ANTHONY STODDARD BYERS, 
Atlanta. 

Lieutenant Governor, 

HUGH VERNON WASHINGTON, 
Macon. 

Secretary, 

JOHN HARRIS KINZIE, 
Savannah. 

Treasurer, 

FRANCIS FITCH JONES, 
Savannah. 

Registrar, 

WILLIAM RIDGELY LEAKEN, 
Savannah. 

Historian, 

CHARLES FRANK WHITNER, 
Atlanta. 

Chaplain, 

(Vacant.) 

Chancellor, 

WILLIAM WASHINGTON GORDON, Jr., 
Savannah. 

Surgeon, 

THOMAS PINCKNEY WARING, M.D., 
Savannah. 

Gentlemen of the Council, 

WILLIAM DANIEL GRANT, JOHN MERIWETHER MCALLISTER, 

HENRY ROOTES JACKSON, JEFFERSON RANDOLPH ANDERSON, 

JOHN THOMAS GLENN, JOHN WILLIAM GRANT, 

HUGH HAGAN, M.D., JOHN ADDISON WHITNER, 

RICHARD HARRISON EARLE. 
4 



Committees 1 896-1 897 



Membership, 

WILLIAM RIDGELY LEAKEN, Chairman, 

FRANCIS FITCH JONES, 
WILLIAM WASHINGTON GORDON, Jr., 
JEFFERSON RANDOLPH ANDERSON, 
HUGH HAGAN, M.D. 



On Collection of Historical Documents and Records, 

CHARLES FRANK WHITNER, Chairman, 

HUGH VERNON WASHINGTON, 

THOMAS PINCKNEY WARING, M.D. 



Installation, 

WILLIAM WASHINGTON GORDON, Jr., 

FRANCIS FITCH JONES, 

THOMAS PINCKNEY WARING, M.D., 

JOHN WILLIAM GRANT, 
JEFFERSON RANDOLPH ANDERSON. 



Delegates to General Society, 

JOHN AVERY GERE CARSON, 
WILLIAM RIDGELY LEAKEN, 
ANTHONY STODDARD BYERS, 

HUGH HAGAN, M.D., 
HUGH VERNON WASHINGTON. 



Deputy Governor General for Georgia, 

JOHN AVERY GERE CARSON. 
5 



Preamble. 

Mbereas, It is desirable that there should be adequate 
celebrations commemorative of the events of Colonial History 
happening from the settlement of Jamestown, Va., May 13, 1607, 
to the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775 ; 

tTberefore, The Society of Colonial Wars has been instituted 
to perpetuate the memory of these events and of the men, who in 
Military, Naval and Civil positions of high trust and responsibility, 
by their acts or counsel assisted in the establishment, defense and 
preservation of the American Colonies, and were in truth the 
founders of this Nation. With this end in view it seeks to collect 
and preserve manuscripts, rolls and records ; to provide suitable 
commemorations or memorials relating to the American Colonial 
period, and to inspire in its members the paternal and patriotic 
spirit of their Forefathers, and in the Community respect and 
reverence for those whose public services made our freedom and 
unity possible. 



Constitution. 

Article I. 

Name. 

The Society shall be known by the name and title of the 
" Society of Colonial Wars" in the State of Georgia. 

7 



Article II. 

Membership. 

Any male person above the age of twenty-one years, of 
good moral character and reputation, shall be eligible to member- 
ship in the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Georgia, who 
is lineally descended in the male or female line from an ancestor : 

(1) Who served as a military or naval officer, or as a 
soldier, sailor or marine, or as a privateersman, under authority of 
the Colonies which afterwards formed the United States, or in the 
forces of Great Britain which participated with those of the said 
Colonies in any wars in which the said Colonies were engaged, or 
in which they enrolled men, from the settlement of Jamestown, 
May 13, 1607, to the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775- 

(2) Or, who served as a Governor, Deputy Governor, 
Lieutenant Governor, Director General, Vice-Director General, 
Lord Proprietor, Governor's Assistant, Trustee, or Member of the 
Council, or Assembly, or Legislature, in any of the Colonies, 
between the dates above mentioned. 

Article III. 

Officers. 

The Officers of the Society of Colonial Wars shall be a 
Governor, a Deputy Governor, a Lieutenant Governor, a 
Secretary, a Treasurer, a Registrar, a Historian, a Chaplain, a 
Chancellor and a Surgeon, who shall be ex-officio members of the 
Council. 



Article IV. 
Gentlemen of the Council and Committees. 

There shall be a Council consisting of nine members who 
shall be called "Gentlemen of the Council," in addition to the 
ex-officio members. 

At the election of 1897, three Gentlemen of the Council 
shall be elected for a term of one year, three for a term of two 
years and three for a term of three years, and thereafter at each 
election three Gentlemen of the Council shall be elected for a term 
of three years. 

A Committee on Membership, consisting of five members ; 
a Committee on Collection of Historical Documents and Records, 
consisting of three members, and a Committee on Installation, 
consisting of five members. 

Article V. 
Election of Officers. 

The Council shall appoint a Nominating Committee of five 
members, who shall not be Officers, who, two weeks before the 
General Court of the Society, shall report to the Council a list of 
members to be voted for at the ensuing election, to succeed the 
Officers and Committees whose terms expire at such General 
Court. Said list must be sent by the Secretary to each member of 
the Society at least one week before the day fixed for the General 
Court. 

The Officers, together with the Gentlemen of the Council 
and Members of the Committees, shall be elected at the General 

9 



Court by ballot. A plurality vote shall elect, and said Officers 
and Committees shall hold office for the period of one year, or 
until their successors shall be duly elected and qualified. Vacancies 
shall be filled for the residue of the current year by the Council. 

Article VI. 
/Admission of Members. 
Every application for membership shall be made in writing, 
subscribed by the applicant and approved by two members of the 
Society over their signatures. Application shall be accompanied 
by proof of eligibility, and such application and proof shall be 
referred to the Committee on Membership, which shall carefully 
investigate the same and report at the next meeting its recom- 
mendation thereon. Members shall be elected by a vote at a 
Council of the Society duly called, but a negative vote of one in 
seven of the ballots cast shall cause the rejection of such candidate. 
Payment of initiation fee and dues, and a subscription to the 
declaration contained in the Constitution of the Society, shall be a 
prerequisite of membership. 

Article VII. 
Declaration. 
Every member shall declare upon honor that he will use his 
best efforts to promote the purposes of the Society, and will 
observe the "Constitution" and "By-Laws" of the same ; and if a 
citizen of the United States, shall declare that he will support the 
Constitution of the United States. Such declaration shall be in 
writing and subscribed to by the member making it, 

10 



Article VIII. 

Purposes. 

At every Council the purposes of the Society shall be 
considered, and the best measures to promote them adopted. No 
party, political question of the day nor existing controversial 
religious subjects shall be discussed or considered at any meeting of 
the Society. 

Article IX. 
Commemorations, 

It shall be a regulation that members of the Society, when 
practicable, shall hold a celebration commemorative of some 
martial event in Colonial history and dine together at least once in 
each year. 

Article X. 
The Seal. 

The Seal of the Society of Colonial Wars, in the State of 
Georgia, shall be as follows : 

Accole, Two Shields : The Dexter.— Q}X2iXitx\y : 1st, gules, 
three lions passant guardant in pale or, for England, impaling or, a 
lion rampant within a double tressure flory counterflory gules, 
for Scotland. 2d, Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or, for France. 3d, 
Azure a harp or, stringed argent, for Ireland. 4th, Gules, two 
lions passant guardant in pale or, for Brunswick, impaling or, semee 
of hearts gules, a lion rampant azure, for Lunenburgh, on a point 
in point gules, a horse courant argent, for Saxony; on the 

11 



centre of the fourth quarter an escutcheon gules, charged with the 
crown of Charlemagne or, as the Arch-Treasurer of the Holy Roman 
Empire. 

The Sinister. — Argent, a chevron vairy or and vert between 
three boar's heads sable, couped gules, a label of as many points 
sable, for Oglethorpe. 

The two shields surmounted by a cavalry sword, and arrow 
in saltire, points upwards, proper. Beneath the shields a ribbon 
with the inscription " Chartered November 19, I896." 

Surrounding the whole and enclosed in a beaded annulet, 
a scroll with the legend," Society of the Colonial Wars in the State 
of Georgia." 

The Secretary shall be the custodian of the Seal. 

Article XI. 

Insignia. 

The insignia shall be a star of nine points, as adopted by the 
General Society. It shall be worn by the members on all occasions 
when they assemble as such for any stated purpose or celebration, 
and may be worn on any occasion of ceremony. It shall be worn 
conspicuously on the left breast, but members who are or have 
been Gentlemen of the Council of a State Society, may place a 
rosette of regulation pattern upon the silk band from which it is 
pendant. Members who are or have been General Officers or 
officers of a State Society, may wear the insignia with three jewels 
in the crown and suspended from a regulation ribbon around the 

12 



neck. Members who are or have been Governors, Deputy 
Governors, or Lieutenant Governors of State Societies, or officers 
of the General Society, may in addition to the insignia so suspended, 
wear a ribbon of the Society's colors, three and one-half inches in 
width, extending from the right shoulder to the left hip. For 
State Officers, worn under, and for General Officers, worn over 
the waist-coat. 

The insignia shall never be worn as an article of jewelry 
The Secretary of the Society shall issue the insignia to the 
members and shall keep a record of all issued by him. Such 
insignia shall be returned to the Secretary by any member who 
may resign or be expelled. No member shall receive more than 
one insignia, except to replace one lost, proof of which must be 
satisfactorily established and the new one paid for. 

The undress insignia shall be a rosette or button of red and 
white silk. This decoration may be worn at all times in the left 
coat lapel. 

Article XII. 
The Flag. 



13 



Article XIII. 
Alteration or Amendment. 

No Alteration or Amendment of the Constitution of this 
Society shall be made unless notice shall be given in writing, 
signed by the member proposing the same, at a previous meeting. 
The Society shall then send a printed copy of the proposed 
amendment to the members of the Society, and state the Court at 
which the same will be voted upon. 

No amendment shall be made unless adopted by a two- 
thirds vote of the members present at the Court voting upon the 
same. 



By-Laws. 

Section I. 

Initiation Fees, Dues. 

The initiation fee shall be ten dollars ; the annual dues three 
dollars, payable between the first of January and the first of March 
of each year, after which latter date members who have not paid 
will be deemed in arrear and debarred from voting at the meetings 
of the Society. The payment at one time of seventy -five dollars 
shall exempt the member so paying from annual dues. 

14 



Section II. 

Governor. 

The Governor, or in his absence, the Deputy Governor, or 
Lieutenant Governor, or Chairman, pro tern., shall preside at all 
Courts of the Society, and shall exercise the duties of a presiding 
officer, under parliamentary rules, subject to an appeal to the 
Society. The Governor shall be a member ex-officio of all 
Committees, except the Nominating Committee and Committee on 
Membership. He shall have power to convene the Council at his 
discretion, or upon the written request of five members of the 
Society, or upon the like request of two members of the Council. 

Section III. 

Secretary. 

The Secretary shall conduct the general correspondence of 
the Society and keep a record thereof. He shall notify all elected 
candidates of their admission, and perform such other duties as the 
Society or his office may require. He shall have charge of the 
seal, certificates of incorporation, by-laws, historical and other 
documents and records of the Society, other than those required to 
be deposited with the Registrar, and shall affix the seal to all 
properly authenticated certificates of membership, and transmit the 
same to the members to whom they may be issued. He shall 
notify the Registrar of all admissions to membership. He shall 
certify all acts of the Society, and when required authenticate them 
under seal. He shall have charge of printing and publications 

15 



issued by the Society, and all publications donated to or acquired 
by purchase for the Society. He shall give due notice of the time 
and place of the holding of all Courts of the Society and of the 
Council, and shall incorporate in said notice the names of all 
applicants for membership to be voted on at said Council, and shall 
be present at the same. He shall keep fair and accurate records of 
all the proceedings and orders of the Society and of the Council, 
and shall give notice to each officer who may be aifected by them, 
of all votes, resolutions and proceedings of the Society or the 
Council, and at the General Court, or oftener, shall report the 
names of those candidates who have been admitted to membership 
and those whose resignations have been accepted, and of those 
members who have been expelled for cause, and of those who 
have failed to substantiate claim of descent. In his absence from 
any meeting, a Secretary pro tern, may be designated therefor. 

Section IV. 

Treasurer. 

The Treasurer shall collect and keep the funds and securi- 
ties of the Society, and as often as those funds shall amount to 
fifty dollars they shall be deposited in some bank in the City of 
Savannah, which shall be designated by the Council, to the credit 
of the " Society of Colonial Wars," and such funds shall be drawn 
thence on the check of the Treasurer for the purposes of the 
Society only. Out of these funds, he shall pay such sums only as 
may be ordered by the Society or the Council, or his office may 

16 



require. He shall keep a true account of his receipts and pay- 
ments, and at each annual meeting render the same to the Society. 
For the faithful performance of his duty, he may be 
required to give such security as the Society may deem proper. 

Section V. 
Registrar. 
The Registrar shall receive from the Secretary and file all 
the proofs upon which membership has been granted, with a list 
of all diplomas countersigned by him and all documents which the 
Society may obtain ; and he, under the direction of the Council, 
shall make copies of such papers as the owners may not be willing 
to leave in the keeping of the Society. 

Section VI. 
Historian. 
The Historian shall keep a detailed record of all historical 
and commemorative celebrations of the Society, and shall edit and 
prepare for publication such historical addresses, papers and other 
documents as the Society may see fit to publish ; also a necrologi- 
cal list for each year, with biographies of deceased members. 

Section VII. 
Chaplain. 
The Chaplain shall be an ordained minister of a Christian 
church, and it shall be his duty to officiate when called upon by 
the proper officers. 

17 



Section VIII. 
Chancellor. 
The Chancellor shall be a lawyer duly admitted to the bar, 
and it shall be his duty to give legal opinion on matters affecting 
the Society when called upon by the proper officers. 

Section IX. 
Surgeon. 
The Surgeon shall be a practicing physician. 

Section X. 

The Council. 

The Council shall have power to call Special Courts of the 
Society, and arrange for celebrations by the Society. It shall 
have control and management of the affairs and funds of the 
Society. It shall perform such duties as shall be prescribed by 
the Constitution and By-Laws, but it shall at no time be 
required to take any action or contract any debt for which it 
shall be liable. It may accept the resignation of any member 
of the Society. It may meet as often as required, or at the 
call of the Governor. Five members shall be a quorum for 
the transaction of business. At the General Court the Council 
shall submit to the Society a report of its proceedings during the 
past year. The Council shall have power to drop from the roll 
the name of any member of the Society who shall be at least 
two years in arrears and shall fail on proper notice to pay the 

18 



same within sixty days, and on being dropped, his membership 
shall cease. The Council may suspend any officer for cause, 
which must be reported to the Society and action taken on the 
same within thirty days. 

Section XL 

Vacancies and Terms of Office. 

Whenever an officer of this Society shall die, resign or 
neglect to serve, or be suspended, or be unable to perform his 
duties by reason of absence, sickness or other cause, and whenever 
an office shall be vacant which the Society shall not have filled by 
an election, the Council shall have power to appoint a member to 
such office pro tempore, who shall act in such capacity until the 
Society shall elect a member to the vacant office, or until the 
inability due to said cause shall cease ; provided, however, that the 
office of Governor or Secretary shall not be filled by the Council 
when there shall be a Deputy or Lieutenant Governor or Deputy 
Secretary to enter on these duties. The Council may supply 
vacancies among its members under the same conditions, and should 
any member other than an officer be absent from three consecutive 
Councils of the same, his place may be declared vacant by the 
Council and filled by appointment until an election of a successor. 
Subject to these provisions, all Officers and Gentlemen of the 
Council shall from the time of election continue in their respective 
offices until the next General Court, or until their successors are 
chosen. 

19 



Section XII. 

Resignation. 

No resignation of any member shall become effective unless 
consented to by the Council. 

Section XIII. 

Disqualification. 

No person who may be enrolled as a member of this 
Society shall be permitted to continue in membership when his 
proofs of descent or eligibility shall be found to be defective. The 
Council, after thirty days' notice to such person to substantiate his 
claim, and upon his failure satisfactorily so to do, may require the 
Secretary to erase his name from the membership list. The said 
person shall have a right to appeal to the Society at its next Court, 
or at the General Court. If the said appeal be sustained by a two- 
thirds vote of the members present at such Court, the said 
person's name shall be restored to said membership list. 

Section XIV. 

Membership. 

Members shall be elected by ballot at a meeting of the 
Council after report by the Membership Committee, but a negative 
vote of one in seven of the ballots cast shall exclude any candidate. 

20 



Section XV. 
Commit tee~~on Membership. 

The Committee on Membership shall consist of five 
members. They shall be chosen by ballot at the General Court of 
the Society, and shall be elected for the period of one year. Three 
members shall constitute a quorum, and a negative vote of two 
members shall cause an adverse report to the Council on the 
candidate's application. The proceedings of the Committee shall 
be secret and confidential, and a candidate who has been rejected 
by the Council shall be ineligible for membership for a space of 
six months from date of rejection, except upon the unanimous 
vote of the Committee. 

The Committee shall have power to make By-Laws for its 
government and for other purposes not inconsistent with the Con- 
stitution or By-Laws of the Society. 

Section XVI. 
Committee on Historical Documents. 
The Committee on Historical Documents may, in connec- 
tion with the Historian, who shall be ex-officio the Chairman, 
prepare papers on matters of interest to the Society, and shall use its 
efforts to secure for the Society original documents, muster rolls, 
and other papers or articles connected with the Colonial history of 
the country ; it shall be empowered to correspond in the name 
of the Society, with individuals, societies and governments, in 
the course of its investigation, and shall keep a record of its 
transactions. 

21 



Section XVII. 
Committee on Installation. 
The Committee on Installation shall have charge of the 
annual election, and shall install the persons elected ; its members 
shall also be stewards of the Society's banquets, but must present to 
the Council of the Society a list of all speakers and invited guests for 
its approval ; the Committee shall have the power to select places 
for the banquets and to issue tickets for the same, but shall 
assume no expense without the approval of the Council. 

Section XVIIl. 
Expulsion or Suspension. 
Any member for cause or conduct detrimental or antago- 
nistic to the interests or purpose of the Society, or for just cause, 
may be suspended or expelled from the Society. But no member 
shall be expelled or suspended unless written charges be presented 
against such member to the Council. The Council shall give 
reasonable notice of such charges and afford such member reason- 
able opportunity to be heard and refute the same. The Council, 
after hearing such charges, may recommend to the Society the 
expulsion or suspension of such member, and if the recommenda- 
tion of the Council be adopted by a majority vote of the members 
of the Society present at such Court, he shall be so expelled or 
suspended, and the insignia of such member shall thereupon be 
returned to the Treasurer of the Society and his rights therein shall 
be extinguished or suspended. The Treasurer shall refund to said 
member the amount paid for the said insignia. 

22 



Section XIX, 
Courts. 

All Courts 6f the Society shall be held in the City of 
Savannah, and at such place as may be designated by the Council. 

The General Court of the Society at which shall be held the 
annual election for officers, shall be held on the anniversary of the 
landing of General James Oglethorpe, February 1, 1733, 0,S. 
(February 12, 1733, N. S.). Business Courts shall be held on the 
tenth of November of each year. 

If the above days fall on a Sunday or a legal holiday, then 
the General Court and Business Court shall be held on such days 
as may be designated by the Council. 

Special Courts may be called by the Governor at such times 
as in his opinion the interest of the Society may demand, and 
must be called by the Secretary on the written request of nine 
members. All notice of Courts shall be sent out at least seven 
days before the date of such Courts. Ten members shall be 
necessary to constitute a quorum. 

At each Court of the Society, immediately after the presid- 
ing officer shall have taken the Chair, the minutes of the previous 
meeting shall be read by the Secretary and passed upon by the 
Society. The next business in order shall be reports of Officers 
and Committees, then new business. 

Any member having observations to make or resolutions to 
propose, shall rise in his place and address the Chair; and all 
resolutions shall be submitted in writing and handed to the 
Secretary, and shall be by him entered on the minutes. 

23 



Section XX. 
Service of Notice. 
It shall be the duty of every member to inform the 
Secretary by written communication of his place of residence and 
of any change thereof, and of his post office address. Service of 
any notice under the Constitution or By-Laws on any member, 
addressed to his last residence or post office address, forwarded by 
mail, shall be sufficient service of notice 

Section XXI. 
Death of Members. 

Upon the decease of any member, it shall thereupon 
become the duty of members, if practicable, to attend the obsequies. 
Upon official information of the decease of a member, it shall be 
the duty of the Governor to appoint from the Society four 
members as a Committee to represent the Society at the funeral. 
Any member who becomes aware of the death of a fellow member, 
shall make it his duty to see that the Secretary is properly notified 
of the fact. 

Section XXI I. 
Alteration or Amendment. 

No Alteration or Amendment of the By-Laws shall be made 
unless notice shall have been duly given in writing, signed by the 
member proposing the same, at a previous Court of the Society. 

The Secretary shall send a printed copy of the proposed 
amendment to the members of the Society and state the Court at 
which the same will be voted upon. No amendment or alteration 
shall be made unless adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members 
present at the Court voting upon the same. 

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.X 



LIBRARY OF CONG " 




011 696 272 A 



